I’m an Indian woman – Suella Braverman is a risk to us both
I knew Suella Braverman’s new role would spell trouble – I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon.
Actually, it took mere seconds – after Nigel Farage announced the former Home Secretary as Reform UK’s lead spokesperson on education, skills and equalities, she gave a speech on accepting the new role.
Nothing she says surprises me anymore, but the speed with which she managed to express her offensive views did take me aback.
‘On day one, we will get rid of the equalities department, we will scrap the equalities minister and we will repeal the Equality Act’, she bellowed to the crowd at her new party’s press conference yesterday.
The Equality Act.
That vital legislation that protects people from discrimination based on immutable characteristics – is apparently on Suella’s chopping block.
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Yes, this woman of Indian heritage wants to get rid of the very thing that could shield her from any kind of discrimination she could face – because if she experiences any racism, or sexism, it is the Equality Act that protects her.
Taking the latter first – it is clear to me that Nigel Farage does not take women seriously.
That was evident yesterday, when the former MEP patronisingly told a female journalist to just ‘write a silly story’.
If this casual sexism from her party leader steered Braverman’s way, it is the Equality Act that would give her the means to seek resolution.
As frustrating as Braverman’s proclamation that this vital protection will be stripped away is her insistence that it would be done ‘on day one’ of a Reform government.
It’s absurd to suggest there aren’t more important things to tackle, other than pesky equality.
As an Indian woman myself, I can’t possibly understand the motivation behind Braverman’s efforts.
Like myself, Braverman hails from West London – she was born in Harrow, and raised in Wembley. Around the same time, my parents moved into a tiny broken house in Southall, a few miles south, and I settled in Hounslow in my teenage years.
We both didn’t come from money and our parents were born from the legacy of the murderous British Raj.
That’s where the similarities between us end – and for that I’m thankful.
Because I moved into community work, building safe spaces for South Asian and queer people – the very people Braverman seems keen to strip rights away from. And unlike her, I didn’t thrive while embracing exclusionary right-wing politics.
And even though I have previously joked that we don’t ‘claim her’ – she is one of many South Asian conservatives who have dominated politics over the past few years.
For a number of years, I watched in dismay as anti-migrant South Asian Tories led our country. Sajid Javid and Priti Patel both said immigration rules they backed might have seen their own parents rejected from settling in the UK.
So it’s no surprise that Braverman wants to turn her back on the very Act that would help her and those who look like her – and me.
Despite our differences, I don’t want the former Tory MP to experience any racism or sexism – but if she does (and I’m sure she has), without the Equality Act to turn to, I can’t imagine how she would find any justice.
Should the Equality Act be repealed as proposed?
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Yes, it is outdated.
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No, it is vital for protection against discrimination.
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I am unsure about its implications.
She hasn’t revealed any plans for a new Act or process to deal with discrimination – and in a painful interview, her Reform colleague Zia Yusuf claimed that there would be a new act to protect people, without offering any detail.
To me, Braverman’s speech simply feels like a series of words that she knows will get applause from her target audience of hard-right ex-Conservatives.
That explains why, in her speech, she continued her attack on the rights of discriminated groups: ‘We are going to work to build a country defined by meritocracy not tokenism, personal responsibility not victimhood, excellence not mediocrity, and unity not division.’
While I don’t know what is more divisive than stripping people of the rights that protect them from discrimination.
As ever with Reform, it is all problems and no solutions.
The UK has plenty of issues – none of which Braverman addressed, and none of which are tackled by stripping rights from people.
We need a functioning NHS, and an end to wealth inequality. We can’t have any more rising taxes. And for these, we need real fixes.
As an Indian woman, I don’t need someone who looks like me committing to strip her own rights away, and mine with it.
I fear this is the start of many wild speeches from Braverman, now that she’s been given the stage again – and with Reform consistently leading in polls.
We must keep her away from the Equality Act.
If not for us, then for her own sake.
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